Monday, August 2, 2010

Will Neuromarketing Impact Your Ethics?

There is a segment out there called "Opportunity Seekers." That's just a nice way of saying "people who actually think you can get rich quick."

You know you're seeing "opportunity seeker" targeted marketing when the copy is full of emotional words and phrases like "financial freedom" or "make millions online." These marketing messages are designed to appeal to the most primitive of emotions and instincts and they also lull us into a fantasy world where we think that ANYTHING is possible.

We used to call those "snake oil salesmen" and laugh. We've come so far since those days. But have we? Does having fMRI scans of how people react to marketing stimulus make it any less "snake oily?" Maybe yes, maybe no.

In his latest thought-provoking article, Tim O'Connor illustrates very vividly how prone we all are to believing in what's possible. Whether or not that's realistic.